| Seven of Brazil's telecommunications operators have concluded four months of negotiations over fixed-to-mobile call charges.
On Monday, the seven operators agreed to a 4.5% rate increase on the payout
to mobile operators for receiving calls from fixed-line operators. The
interconnection agreement will also lead to a 7.99% increase in the prices
charged by fixed-line operators to consumers for calls to mobiles.
Seven operators have signed the agreement: mobile
operators Vivo, a joint venture of Spain's Telefonica Moviles and Portugal
Telecom; Claro, a unit of Mexico's America Movil; TIM Brazil, a unit of Telecom
Italia; fixed-line operators Telesp and CTBC; and Brasil Telecom Participacoes
and its mobile unit Brasil Telecom GSM. Telemar and its mobile unit Oi have not
signed the agreement.
The operators are expected to present the
agreement to Anatel, the telecommunications regulator, on Tuesday. Anatel must
approve the agreement for the rate increase to take effect. This is the first
time that Anatel has not imposed a price hike on the operators, allowing them to
negotiate among themselves.
Source: Dow Jones |